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baling twine, hay carts, and other random less than nessicary items...

I'm really hoping someone has some nifty ideas about keeping and collecting baling twine as you open bales.... much to my dismay I have to deal with baling twine from squares and was pondering after opening a bale today... just where could I put it until I disposed of it. Granted, I could toss it in the can.. but it seems that anytime I just toss it I have a need for it later. SO... does anyone have a handy dandy little thing-a-ma-bob for storing baler twine?

I was thinking something along the lines of those cloth grocery bag sleeves you see, but I don't think one of those would hold much baler twine... anyone out there with a great idea already in exisitance?

Haycart.... does anyone have any leads on something I can set a bale of hay on and wheel it behind me or in front of me with one hand so that flakes can be doled out as needed? I'm REALLY sick of getting hay chaff down my bra everytime I carry half a bale out to toss to the horses. In a a few months I"m going to be down one hand for tossing hay(BabySling with one arm on baby). I haven't really seen anything that strikes my fancy in any of the usual catalogs. Please let me in on your secrets oh wise Cothers. ;-)

If i'm posting on Coth, it's either raining so I can't ride or it's night time and I can't sleep.

My *ahem* MIL hangs it all over the hog panels that they use as stall grates.... I hate it... it's like it's EVERYWHERE!!!!! and the blaze oragne..... it's just soo..... unsightly.... I'm being a big baby about it, I know that.... I just feel the need to rebel. I also don't have a "feed room" I keep the feed here IN my house and take buckets with me now, and hay is stored next to the barn so I bring it in bale per bale as needed and what I don't use sits in the isle way in front of my horses stalls until it is used. Really not "ideal" but if you get me started I will rant for a really long time about MIL and associated MIL issues and how they impact me and my horses.

Chocomare, I knew you'd have some ideas! lol I thought about one of those carts.. I just bought a NICE NEW big two front wheeled wheelbarrow that I may use for it, after I have it out with said MIL for leaving feces in it... *deep breathe* *I will not yell... I will not yell... I willnot yell*

Keep the ideas coming people... please!!!!

If i'm posting on Coth, it's either raining so I can't ride or it's night time and I can't sleep.

I braid the choicest hay strings to be used for whenever I need to tie something down with. Comes in really handy for a lot of things. I can just cut off the length that I need.

To transport my hay bales more easily ( since they are 80# +) I went to Tractor Supply and got one of those garden wagons that you can fold the sides down on for a flat bed, or put the sides up to hold everything in. One bale of hay fits handily in mine, they come in different sizes, and the bigger ones even have an adjustable handle that you can either pull by hand or attach to a lawn tractor or golf cart.

See I had considered a two-wheeled wheelbarrow....but you can't pull them. -- With the Tough Cart, I can do 2 bales of hay, pushed or pulled and turned tightly when maneuvering into a gate being crowded by a big draft mare .

I've even used it to move a friend's tack closet...made a great handtruck!

It saved our butts when the water hydrant was out of commission in the pasture. I filled the cart 2/3'rds full at the barn and carefully rolled it out to the pasture tub and dumped.

NOTE: On any Rubbermaid thingie, keep it out of sunlight. That'll break it down and make it crack. Four years of HARD abuse and my cart is still going strong.....God bless it!

<>< Sorrow Looks Back. Worry Looks Around. Faith Looks Up! -- Being negative only makes a difficult journey more difficult. You may be given a cactus, but you don't have to sit on it.

To transport my hay bales more easily ( since they are 80# +) I went to Tractor Supply and got one of those garden wagons that you can fold the sides down on for a flat bed, or put the sides up to hold everything in. One bale of hay fits handily in mine, they come in different sizes, and the bigger ones even have an adjustable handle that you can either pull by hand or attach to a lawn tractor or golf cart.

Yes - we use one of these too - VERY nice!

We have a bale knife tied on the handle to easily cut the twine string.

Chocomare: I've been coveting a 2-wheel barrow too, but if it can;t be pulled then...Nevermind < said in my best Roseannroseannadanna voice

Catersun - I bundle my baling twin as I remove it from the bales then toss it in a bushel basket. That way if I need a string or two they are neatly rolled & ready. When the basket is full it gets dumped in the trash.
Someone on here posted that their hay guy recycles the twine (keep meaning to ask my guy) but I can't see how that could be done.

As for the MIL rant, feel free.feces? in the wheelbarrow? I hope you don't mean manure...
Dog poop would be gross, but manure-in-wheelbarrow is the standard here until it's full enough for a trip to the pile.

For moving one bale of hay.... Sams Club has the most amazing hand-truck for under $25: http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/nav...=5&item=370146 It fits one bale (vertical) perfectly, two (horizontal) if your surface is flat. Big enough tires to roll through grass and dirt. It doesn't do that great once a bale is cut apart, but everyone needs one of these in their trailer for when the stabling is 6 miles from trailer parking.

See I had considered a two-wheeled wheelbarrow....but you can't pull them. -- With the Tough Cart, I can do 2 bales of hay, pushed or pulled and turned tightly when maneuvering into a gate being crowded by a big draft mare .

:

I can pull Mine.. I got it at sams when they were on sale, very handy.. moves easily and was under $50. It's just bigger than I'd like to have to deal with moving hay around.

*sigh* yes, it is manure, but I'm nearly 8 months preggo and can't lift it when it is even half full. It's a BIG wheelbarrow. She rusted the last three out leaving poo in them. I bought a new one for myself when the last one got too bad, and then without asking or thanks she started using mine.

Although this is because suddenly very low on the list of important things. I need to move my horses.... for mine and my husbands sanity.

I really need to blow off steam.... the mil ambushed poor DH.... HuntJump- P'aint Misbehavin .. if ya'll read this.. we need to go get coffee. I need some perspective.

Anyone having followed former threads on the topic of MIL's and inheriting farms..... that anwser is unequivically.. No, it is not worth it.

If i'm posting on Coth, it's either raining so I can't ride or it's night time and I can't sleep.

Can't help with MIL's but we bought one of the Rubbermaid carts 13 years ago and
don't worry about leaving it out in the sun and it's still going strong. Think we bought
it a new set of tires several years ago. Always been worth it's weight....

I like this one!! My mom has one that is now strictly a garden cart because the horse doesn't live there anymore but for years was a hay cart. My mom doesn't have this exact model but similar and it handles "off road" really well. On thanksgiving one year she fell off the steps on our dock and hurt her ankle. We pulled the garden cart down to the pond (about a 1/4 mile), mom jumped on and we pulled her back to the house . Mom was fine and the cart seemed to enjoy the change of pace .

There are stars in the Southern sky and if ever you decide you should go there is a taste of time sweetened honey.

I keep a 5 gallon bucket right where the hay is stored, wrap the twine in a know and throw it in the bucket. When the bucket's full... burn pile or trash. I've actually thought about weaving it into a rug, LOL, but would probably go insane before it was 2x2.

For your twine storage issue...do you have a Container Store near you? If not, check them out online. But try not to spend your life savings. That place is dangerous. You could outfit your whole barn, life....everything. But they have some really really neat things.

And I agree, the Rubbermaid carts will last forever....unless you have some really, uh, simple barn help. I don't know how the handle on my two month old one became cracked. I can only imagine. I've NEVER been able to break one myself. Just had to replace tires or wheels after years of service.

For the twine strings, I roll them up around my hand, then put them in my pocket. After a few hours in a pocket (or days in case of the barn coat), they are squished in to a neat little roll that will hold its shape when you empty your pockets and toss the twine in whatever, then decide you need to retrieve it later for other use.

The up side is I ALWAYS have a string or two on me if I find myself needing a string for something.